Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

The biggest difference was the type of terrain: there were lakes everywhere and the earth was almost always muddy, which is why, most of the roads were built with bricks, which also made it possible to move wagons and caravans.

About an hour after they left Innsjo's borders and they found themselves in front of a large, flat valley, strewn with many pools of water, just over a few meters wide.

"And what are those, little ponds?" asked Karl, intrigued by the unusual landscape.

"Do you remember when I told you about the hydrothermal springs?" asked Dag, turning to his companions, who looked at him as if they didn't understand what he was talking about.

"I had no doubt... well, when we were on the boat, I spoke to Emil, the captain. He told me that there used to be a volcano on the bottom of the Lukket Sea. This explains why these small lakes, which are actually natural thermal baths!" continued Dag, fascinated by what he saw.

The road, just coinciding with the beginning of the valley, stopped being straight and took on a meandering pattern, circling the baths and moving forward, avoiding dropping travelers into the water.

When Dag and his companions passed through that multitude of small lakes, the temperature suddenly rose and all four of them began to feel very warm.

"Unbelievable... look there, on the surface of the water! There's some vapor! It means it's hot water, right?" said Agnes, asking Dag for confirmation, who seemed to be the one who knew the most about natural sciences.

"That's right! It's hot water! If we had time to waste, we would stop for a bath, but we have to move before it gets too late" Dag said, continuing to ride along the way. 

After less than an hour, in front of them, they saw a huge fortress, with the walls tens of meters high, delimited by 4 towers, properly guarded by archers, 3 for each tower. 

The main road led to a huge wooden and steel drawbridge, which was Hevnen's main entrance.

"The bridge is lowered. We still have time to get into the city" Reidar said, speeding up the pace.

"Does that mean you can't get in at night?" asked Karl, trying to figure out how the stronghold's defenses worked. 

"Yes, we could go in anyway, but they would fill us with questions, causing us to waste more time. With the low deck, however, there is only one small check to overcome: there are two guards there, right after the bridge" Reidar continued, who made his way.

The bridge allowed to overcome a deep moat, filled with water, useful to strengthen the defenses of the city, making any enemy Clan' siege impossible.

"It looks like they're well organized..." thought aloud Dag, admiring that remarkable engineering work.

As expected by Reidar, two men in armor guarded the entrance, a second door that allowed access to the town center.

One of the two guards raised his hand, asking the adventurers to stop.

"Who are you?" the man asked, approaching Reidar first, then the others, studying the details.

"We are ambassadors of the Hammers Of Thor Clan. We come from Jordstäl to bring an important message to Fort Skjonnet" Reidar replied, in a convincing tone.

The guard stood next to Dag, noticing the two weapons hanging from his belt.

"I am their captain. My sister server for many years the Sons Of Freya" Dag said, without anyone asking him anything and showing the symbol of his Clan engraved on his jacket.

"And what about the girl? She doesn't look like a warrior to me, nor does she seem to be part of a Clan" the guard continued, observing Karl and Agnes.

"He is our healer and she is a girl we saved from a village in Kvete, destroyed by bandits, who use to inhabit its shores" Dag continued, preceding Karl, fearing that he might say some nonsense that would make the guard nervous.

The man turned to his companion and nodded his hand.

"They can pass, open the gate" he said.

Karl and Agnes breathed a sigh of relief.

The four companions finally entered Hevnen, after a long journey that lasted about a week.

Being late in the evening, the streets were not very crowded and it was possible to notice every detail of the beautiful city center: inside the huge fortress, a small river flowed zigzagging, crossed by numerous stone bridges, which allowed to move from one neighborhood to another.

The houses and most of the buildings were made of white stone, which highlighted the colorful plants and flowers that graced every corner and balcony.

The edges of the roofs of most of the buildings were adorned with small statues, similar to idols, depicting the same cats protecting the port.

"In this city, everything reminds Freya" Dag said, turning to Reidar.

"Yes, Captain. This is the only Clan that is based right in the center of the reference city, and this makes sure that there is much more contact between the Clan warriors and the citizens, who almost revere them as mythical heroes" Reidar replied, as all three horses walked slowly on the street bricks, with their hooves dirty with mud.

"There's a signboard over there... it says that way we can get to 'Skjonnet'" Karl said, pointing to a wooden pole with some kind of signage on top.

"Well, let's go!" continued Dag, who was looking forward to meeting his sister.

All the bridges that crossed the river led to a single large district, with buildings built in a semicircle around a hill with steep slopes.

Finally, after so much effort, they had reached the first real destination of their journey.

On the mountain in the center of Hevnen, there was another fortress, whose outer walls were identical to those of the city, but smaller.

It was as if Fort Skjonnet was a 'fortress in the fortress'.

A staircase, carved into the soft rock of the headland, led to the entrance, and the 4 friends, after getting off the horse, began to climb.